Luke Palermo, a faculty member in the television department of Columbia College Chicago for more than 25 years, has been elected president of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He succeeds outgoing president Barbara Williams Perry, effective June 15. Palermo, who's been on the board of the local NATAS chapter for more than 15 years, said in a statement:

"It is indeed an honor to be elected president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chicago, and I am humbled by the wonderful men and women that have preceded me in that position. I enjoy working and planning alongside industry professionals and bringing‚ that world into my classroom.‚ I am very lucky to have the best of all worlds, my students, my teaching and my connection with television colleagues."

Emily Barr, president and general manager of top-rated WLS-Channel 7, is getting a new boss: She's Rebecca Campbell, who was named Wednesday to succeed the retiring Walter Liss as president of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group.

Owners Jeff and Maureen Muldrow closed Va Pensiero in early April, leaving an uncertain future for the 21-year-old Evanston fine dining fixture. Today, the building's owner, who also runs the Margarita Inn above the restaurant on Oak Avenue, tells us he has purchased Va Pensiero with plans to rename it "Va P" and open it as a "more accessible, less stuffy" incarnation of the restaurant. "

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The southern suburb of Calumet Park last week said it wants to officially rename 127th--the town's east/west main street--after President Barack Obama. An honorary designation was approved by a 5-0 vote of the village council. Now the small suburb wants state permission to officially rename the town's 10-block stretch in honor of the 44th president, the Chicago Tribune said.

The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) really knows how to hold a convention. By size standards, the Vending Machine Show is no National Restaurant Association show (which comes to town this weekend by the way, so forget about getting reservations anywhere), and it's definitely dwarfed compared with the Fancy Foods Show or the Candy Show. But this annual convention certainly pulls together some interesting displays, and does it in a way that is completely relatable to most folks. I mean, who hasn't bought something from a vending machine? They're everywhere - offices, schools, ice rinks - and as much as foodies might disdain their contributions to the culinary world, they often come in handy in a pinch.

An assortment of news items (updated and annotated) from my Chicago Sun-Times column 26 years ago this week:

"It was smiles all around as Steve Dahl and Garry Meier returned to their WLS-FM (94.7) afternoon show after a three-day suspension and weeklong vacation. WLS general manager John Gehron kicked them off the air May 9 for infractions of station policies and an overall 'defiant attitude toward management.' 'I'm sorry I didn't read the situation better,' Gehron said. 'As a manager, I shouldn't have let it explode.' " [Dahl and Meier shifted to WLS-AM (890) four months later, and worked there until their contract ran out in February 1986. The duo broke up in 1993. Today, Dahl hosts a daily podcast from his home, and Meier hosts afternoons on WGN-AM (720). Gehron, who went on to become a revered broadcast industry statesman, is lead management consultant for AccuRadio.com.]

"How eager is WLS-Channel 7 for anchorman John Drury to jump over from WGN-Channel 9? Though Drury is still being held to his WGN contract, Channel 7 already lists him (and an out-of-service extension number) in its internal phone directory." [Drury finally signed on at Channel 7 in August 1984 and fronted the ABC-owned station's top-rated 10 p.m. newscast for almost 18 years until he retired in February 2002. On Nov. 25, 2007, he died of Lou Gehrig's disease at age 80.]

The John Hancock Center--the dark, obelisk-like tower stitched up on all four sides with iconic x-bracing--is still a commanding presence on the city's skyline.

But what caught my attention recently wasn't how the 1,127 feet of offices, shops and residences scrape the sky, but how it all meets the ground. The world-famous 100-story building lands without much fanfare on a simple granite plaza that has a sunken portion. The muscular X-braces reach all the way down to just above the first floor.